As a final project in Associate Professor Elena Kennedy’s Entrepreneurship for the Greater Good course, students worked with seven local organizations.
On May 15, 2024 in Sankey Hall, thirty students prepared to give their final presentation to the representatives of the organizations that they had been working with for months.
“Our students have gained invaluable insights into community engagement, your social missions, and the professional world through their interactions with you,” said Associate Professor Elena Kennedy.
From market research to event planning, the students showcased a diverse array of projects. All projects included a deliverable from Elon’s Maker Hub to address the needs of the organization.
This project proposed an “Entrepreneurship Summit” to support the black community in the local area. Students developed a comprehensive plan including a schedule, budget, and workbook content, and produced mock-ups of notebook giveaways with different designs.
Caring Covers:
This project introduced a patent-pending garment enhancing privacy and hygiene for those requiring bathing assistance. Students developed a pitch deck, conducted market surveys, created a financial workbook, and produced an acrylic sign detailing the product’s benefits.
Focused on organizing a grand opening and launching initiatives like a food truck and café, students created an event planning guide, identified event opportunities, proposed a detailed operations model, and produced photo booth props for the grand opening event.
Aimed at creating business opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals, this project included detailing how to establish an Etsy shop to sell handmade goods. Students researched operational steps for a kitchen, compiled a product list, and created prototypes of the products.
This project involved creating a marketing plan for a resale store, developing a 22-county resource guide for pet owners facing financial challenges, and producing acrylic signs for cat rooms.
This project focused on leveraging corporate philanthropy and event sponsorship, creating a sponsorship package with five levels of support. Students analyzed existing packages, developed social media strategies, and produced dog tags for participants, one for the participant, one for the dog, and one for Charlie Mike.
Students developed social media strategies, and marketing materials to enhance the farm’s visibility and engagement. They also produced an acrylic sign for use at markets and prototyped a new training for participants to make pressed flower cards to sell at markets.
“Our students were great. They communicated well with us, were thorough in their research, and did a great job in their presentation. We would work with them again, absolutely,” said Lisa and Michael Edwards, directors of the Dream Center.
“The students definitely impressed me. As fast as I had to pivot my decisions, they were able to follow suit and not only that but follow through with some awesome deliverables,” said Autumn Bolton, founder of Caring Covers.
Kennedy has been teaching at Elon University since 2016. Her research was recently awarded “Best Empirical Paper” and “Best Overall Paper” at the USASBE conference in January 2024. Kennedy will be teaching Bringing the Venture to Life in the Fall.